Was at Max's swim meet last night (1st in Fly, 2nd in 50 Free, 1st in Breast, IM relay was DQ'ed) and before the meet somebody was playing "Big Poppa" by the Notorious BIG to (I guess) pump up the swimmers. Pay no mind that most of the kids are so young they have no idea who the Notorious BIG is, and that the song has all the intensity of the staff working at a South Carolina lumber yard in the dead of August, at 2:30 in the afternoon. It was a bad choice.
Which got me thinking.... back when I ran cross country (twenty years and 150 pounds ago), I would always listen to Genesis "Turn It On Again" on my Walkman knock-off before I'd go out an raced to 53rd place. So, what are my Top Ten "Get Pumped Up" songs? Thanks to a real case of writer's (sermon) block, here they are:
10) Bang The Drum All Day (Todd Rundgren): Because I really don't want to work. I'd rather bang on a drum all day. It's true.
9) Big Time (Peter Gabriel): The really ironic part of this song was that it was Peter Gabriel's reaction to everything he thought was bad about the eighties. The growing materialism. Yuppies. The emergence of the SUV. Gordon Gekko's "greed is good" ethos dominated the decade, and Gabriel's work was a scathing indictment of it. But the song has a such a good groove, that it gets me going, even as I sing "on my way to my big church, to pray to my big god". Very strange.
8) Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel): Best double entendre song in all of history. AC/DC has been ripping it off now for ten years as lyrical inspiration. Not to mention that the bass line and the horns are killer. Still a favorite while riding on a garden tractor while mowing the lawn.
7) Flashlight (Parliament): Bootsy Collins is greatest living funk bass player alive. Couple that with George Clinton's unique music gifts (insanity?), and you get something very, very special. Growing up in Lima as a "city school kid", I always had friends that listened to funk and rap, and you can never escape your influences. You'll probably also never love any other music more than the music you grew up listening to as a teenager. Hence the large volume of funk songs in my MP3 player.
6) Sunday Bloody Sunday (U2): The version recorded live at Red Rocks. When the crowd sings so loud they drown out Bono. Great stuff!
5) Turn It On Again (Genesis): One of my favorite albums growing up as a kid was "Three Sides Live". If you've ever listened to it, you know that the first song, on the first album is "Turn It On Again", and if you've ever heard it, you'll know that there is a very long intro where there's just a bass and keyboard, and the sound of a crowd that can't wait for the show to begin. I always thought that was cool. I think Genesis still uses this tune to open their shows (on occasion), even though it was written long before they were ever all that popular. Not only gets the blood flowing, but connects me to that skinny junior high kid sitting in a van, getting ready to run 2.5 miles as fast as he can.
4) Don't You Want Me (The Human League): Really could have been five or six Human League songs. Why? I'm a sucker for Eurotrash pop synth music. It's my guilty pleasure. Well, that and "ABBA" and another genre of pop music you will learn about, shortly.
3) Message In A Bottle (The Police): Probably the best song ever written about isolation and loneliness that you'll ever play air guitar to.
2) Mr. Blue Sky (ELO): While we were living in West Virginia, about the last year we still lived down in the valley on Cread Drive, a kid moved in down the street who was three or four years older than I. Joe Burdette was a great guy, who, probably because no one else lived close to him who was his age, would always invite to come over to hang out. He'd let me ride his motorcycle. He'd let me play his Atari and his hand held Mattel Football Game (the white one that featured red lights as players). And whenever we were anywhere, he'd be playing ELO. Why? I've no clue. But even to this day, if I could ride my motorcycle, alone, on a sunny spring day, with one song blaring out of the radio, and I could choose it, I'd pick this one. It truly sums up what the first nice day after a long cold winter is like. That and you can sing like an opera singer at the top of your lungs with the choir.
1) We Are Family (Sister Sledge): Hints at my love for (forgive me Uncle Jack for I have sinned against you) disco. The Bee Gees, KC and Sunshine Band, Evelyn "Champaign" King, Donna Summer, Kool and the Gang, The Village People, Earth, Wind and Fire..... you've never lived until you've read Lesslie Newbigin with a disco soundtrack (just trust me on this one). And best disco song ever written was We Are Family... or maybe I just remember the hysteria around the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. I don't know... it's one or other. It's either the greatest disco song ever recorded, or it's just more nostalgia gone wild. Either way, it's great to listen to on a treadmill.
Honorable Mention:
- Like To Get To Know You Well (Howard Jones): Have you seen "Better Off Dead"?
- Welcome to the Jungle (Guns and Roses)
- Panama (Van Halen)
- Rivalry (Big Tent Revival)
- Jesusfreak (DC Talk)
- Jet Airliner (Steve Miller Band)
- Whip It (Devo)
- Rockin the Suburbs (Ben Folds)
- Battle Hymn of the Republic (as sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir): So sue me.
- Bananaphone (Raffi): Quit scoffing you elitist.
- Buckeye Battle Cry (The Ohio State Marching Band): Like Auburn, Georgia or Florida have anything can compare. Get real.
- American Mall (Hoag): It's like ten simultaneous shots of espresso.
- Copacabana (Barry Manilow): Her name was Lola. She was a showgirl. But that was many years ago, when they used to have a show..... I'm gonna take a lot of ribbing for this one, aren't I.
- On Top Of The World (The Carpenters): But not as much ribbing as I'll take for this.
OK, now I can work again. (What... you think I can wax poetic on youth ministry, post-modern Christianity, and death all the time? Expect less from a guy who as a kid thought Fonzie was the coolest guy in the world. Hehhhhhhhhhhh!)
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Typical
Have gotten hooked on "Mute Math", a quasi-Christian band from New Orleans. Here's a sample:
Just goes to show that everything old becomes new again. There are a lot of new bands that sound like bands from the 80's, but none more than Mute Math. The lead singer even plays a "key-tar" which supposedly the uncoolest instrument in the world.
Not in this blogger's world it isn't!!! When you grow up listening to Tears for Fears, Thompson Twins, and Howard Jones, you dig the key-tar.
Anyhow this song, "Typical", is pretty cool. Here are the lyrics...
Come on can't I dream for one day
Theres nothing that can't be done
But how long should it take somebody
Before they can be someone
Cause I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feeling like its now or never
Can I break the spell
of the typical
I've lived through my share of misfortune
And I've worked in the blazing sun
But how long should it take somebody
Before they can be someone.
Cause I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feeling like its now or never.
Can I break the spell
of the typical.
The typical
I'm just the typical
Can I break the spell of the typical
Because its dragging me down
I'd like to know about when
When does it all turn around
Might as well just re-name the song "Song for the American Mainline Christian Church". I say this because I've just read an email from my friend, Pauly, who's pastoring an urban mainline (Disciples of Christ) church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is emerging from the "typical", into the light of something new. His church, First Christian (DOC) of Chattanooga, was your typical downtown church (slowly dying, as the people who traveled to the suburbs to attend it grew older and declined in number), in the middle of a non-typical setting (it's located in the middle of the UT-Chat campus). The church, starting about four years ago, realized that it was slowly moving toward closing its doors, and faced with a pastoral change, called a consultant to figure out what it might do to avoid what appeared to be the inevitable. After forming a plan, which included hiring a staff person to work on campus, opening a coffee house in an old fellowship hall, raising hundreds of thousand of dollars to make all of this possible, and finding a younger pastor with a passion for working in an urban community who wasn't afraid of the cost of change.... the church went out to find that pastor.
For years my friend Pauly (who took me in from being homeless three days a week, 30 weeks a year, for two years while I was in seminary) had been slogging in small churches in mostly rural (he once lived in a place called "Ducktown", which was located next to "Turtletown", and was about three miles away from "The Edge Of The Worldtown") communities. He traded a very contented, somewhat slow paced position in West Virginia, for the hustle and bustle of a downtown church struggling to avoid closing, and find new life on the other side of change. For a couple of years now, as major changes took place, the church has been slowly dying unto itself, which has meant changes that have ticked off long-time members who had always knew their place and understood their role. He and his family have paid a price in the process.
Recently though, things have started coming together. As he's started finding more balance between the neverending work and a robust family (four kids... two boys, two girls, and no dull moments), the church is starting to hit its stride. The coffeehouse, which is a creative partnership between the church and a local business, is doing well, attracting groups (including the NAACP chapter on campus) who are now meeting in the church's building on a regular basis. The church has been experimenting with more contemporary forms of worship, and is about to start doing its own thing with its own flavor as another alternative service on Sunday morning. The regular service has been growing, as new people, looking for a church that cares about more than filling pews and building bigger buildings, have started migrating to FCC.
Now, the church has adopted the Brown Academy, which is a public school dedicated to educating at-risk school children (many of whom are currently homeless). 32 people from the congregation will now be tutoring these kids, filling up backpacks with food on Friday so the kids will eat during the weekend, and generally providing a cloak of prayer on children and teachers who need it the most. It's looking to transform the typical Wednesday night "eat a meal and go to a class church night" into a time to minister to the homeless in the Chattanooga community. The church, which has been running "Living the Questions" groups (which is kind of the liberal answer to the "Alpha" program written by the folks at Holy Trinity-Brompton in London) is starting new small groups and bible studies for people coming into the doors. A new campus pastor, Travis, is finding creative ways to network with young adults not only on UT-Chat campus, but also a sub-culture of young adults that I can assure you no other church is even coming close to reaching in that community.
In other words.... this ain't your "Typical" church.
People caring for one another
Praying incessantly
Worshipping God
Finding themselves in scriptures
so they can find Jesus living in their hearts
and among those who are in great need
so that Heaven might be revealed
That's the real deal, babe. That's not playing church. You can't believe the number of communities of faith struggling with all they are toward this kind of vision. Given the slow irrelevance of the Christian faith in western culture, they are pushing forward not a moment too soon. Considering we'll be closing churches at alarming rates as United Methodists over the next decade, maybe we need start singing the chorus that churches like FCC of Chattanooga are singing.
Cause I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feeling like its now or never.
Can I break the spell of the typical?
Just goes to show that everything old becomes new again. There are a lot of new bands that sound like bands from the 80's, but none more than Mute Math. The lead singer even plays a "key-tar" which supposedly the uncoolest instrument in the world.
Not in this blogger's world it isn't!!! When you grow up listening to Tears for Fears, Thompson Twins, and Howard Jones, you dig the key-tar.
Anyhow this song, "Typical", is pretty cool. Here are the lyrics...
Come on can't I dream for one day
Theres nothing that can't be done
But how long should it take somebody
Before they can be someone
Cause I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feeling like its now or never
Can I break the spell
of the typical
I've lived through my share of misfortune
And I've worked in the blazing sun
But how long should it take somebody
Before they can be someone.
Cause I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feeling like its now or never.
Can I break the spell
of the typical.
The typical
I'm just the typical
Can I break the spell of the typical
Because its dragging me down
I'd like to know about when
When does it all turn around
Might as well just re-name the song "Song for the American Mainline Christian Church". I say this because I've just read an email from my friend, Pauly, who's pastoring an urban mainline (Disciples of Christ) church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is emerging from the "typical", into the light of something new. His church, First Christian (DOC) of Chattanooga, was your typical downtown church (slowly dying, as the people who traveled to the suburbs to attend it grew older and declined in number), in the middle of a non-typical setting (it's located in the middle of the UT-Chat campus). The church, starting about four years ago, realized that it was slowly moving toward closing its doors, and faced with a pastoral change, called a consultant to figure out what it might do to avoid what appeared to be the inevitable. After forming a plan, which included hiring a staff person to work on campus, opening a coffee house in an old fellowship hall, raising hundreds of thousand of dollars to make all of this possible, and finding a younger pastor with a passion for working in an urban community who wasn't afraid of the cost of change.... the church went out to find that pastor.
For years my friend Pauly (who took me in from being homeless three days a week, 30 weeks a year, for two years while I was in seminary) had been slogging in small churches in mostly rural (he once lived in a place called "Ducktown", which was located next to "Turtletown", and was about three miles away from "The Edge Of The Worldtown") communities. He traded a very contented, somewhat slow paced position in West Virginia, for the hustle and bustle of a downtown church struggling to avoid closing, and find new life on the other side of change. For a couple of years now, as major changes took place, the church has been slowly dying unto itself, which has meant changes that have ticked off long-time members who had always knew their place and understood their role. He and his family have paid a price in the process.
Recently though, things have started coming together. As he's started finding more balance between the neverending work and a robust family (four kids... two boys, two girls, and no dull moments), the church is starting to hit its stride. The coffeehouse, which is a creative partnership between the church and a local business, is doing well, attracting groups (including the NAACP chapter on campus) who are now meeting in the church's building on a regular basis. The church has been experimenting with more contemporary forms of worship, and is about to start doing its own thing with its own flavor as another alternative service on Sunday morning. The regular service has been growing, as new people, looking for a church that cares about more than filling pews and building bigger buildings, have started migrating to FCC.
Now, the church has adopted the Brown Academy, which is a public school dedicated to educating at-risk school children (many of whom are currently homeless). 32 people from the congregation will now be tutoring these kids, filling up backpacks with food on Friday so the kids will eat during the weekend, and generally providing a cloak of prayer on children and teachers who need it the most. It's looking to transform the typical Wednesday night "eat a meal and go to a class church night" into a time to minister to the homeless in the Chattanooga community. The church, which has been running "Living the Questions" groups (which is kind of the liberal answer to the "Alpha" program written by the folks at Holy Trinity-Brompton in London) is starting new small groups and bible studies for people coming into the doors. A new campus pastor, Travis, is finding creative ways to network with young adults not only on UT-Chat campus, but also a sub-culture of young adults that I can assure you no other church is even coming close to reaching in that community.
In other words.... this ain't your "Typical" church.
People caring for one another
Praying incessantly
Worshipping God
Finding themselves in scriptures
so they can find Jesus living in their hearts
and among those who are in great need
so that Heaven might be revealed
That's the real deal, babe. That's not playing church. You can't believe the number of communities of faith struggling with all they are toward this kind of vision. Given the slow irrelevance of the Christian faith in western culture, they are pushing forward not a moment too soon. Considering we'll be closing churches at alarming rates as United Methodists over the next decade, maybe we need start singing the chorus that churches like FCC of Chattanooga are singing.
Cause I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feeling like its now or never.
Can I break the spell of the typical?
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Study Music Top Ten
If you're new to the blog, every so often, when my playlist turns over enough, I give you the top ten songs I'm listening to while trying to get some studying done. Started listening to music while studying in college (out of necessity in a freshman dorm filled with wanna be DJ's), and never stopped. The music must be interesting enough that it can disappear into the background, but not become so boring that it's distracting.
Oh, and whatever I'm listening to generally is a fairly good indicator of where my head is at. Confused? Well, don't be. Just enjoy.
10) "Thrill of It" by Robert Randolph and The Family: If you watch college football on ABC you've heard this song. Special thanks to Mike Stinson for cluing me in as to how good this band really is. Dude is playing all those licks on a slide guitar.... amazing!
9) "Landed" by Ben Folds: Can't seem to shake this song. Just seems to soothe the soul.
8) "Save Me" by Aimee Mann: Not really the song I want to put here. Aimee Mann just released a Christmas album, and on it she wrote an interesting song called "Calling on Mary". Any song that includes the line "comfort is not possible when / you look past the joy to the end / calling on Mary is voluntary / unless you're alone like me /if there's a star above, then it can look like love / when they light up the Christmas tree" gets my vote as a pretty good original Christmas song... which isn't easy to pull of in this day and age. But this is a pretty good song too.
7) "Choose Life" by Big Tent Revival: Why do I like this band so much? Why do I wish they'd reunite and go on tour so I could see them again? I can't explain it. I just do. Their song "Psalm 72" might be the closest thing to what it must have been to hear David sing to Saul.
6) "We Three Kings" by Reverend Horton Heat: If the wise men had been from Memphis, this would have been the soundtrack.
5) "Must Have Done Something Right" by Reliant K
4) "Alone" by Kings X: Maybe one of the best bands most people have never heard of. Fans have argued for years as to whether or not the band could be classified as a "Christian Band", and the members of the band have been less than helpful in clearing things up. Seems they can't decide if they are either, which sounds kind of strange... but, there you go. As an example, the video for this song featured a few very scantily clad young women dancing to a song about making people feel welcome and included. How is that conveyed using images of blatant sexual exploitation? I think I'd have fired the director. Anyhow, someone re-cut the video to have Chris Farley as the topless Chippendale dancer wanna-be (from the classic sketch on SNL) in place of the females. Seemed to make more sense than the original, so here you go.
3) "A Living Prayer" by Alison Krauss and Union Station: Lyrics that made of deep stuff.
2) "The Christmas Song" by The Dave Matthews Band: Jesus from a unique perspective. "Father up above, why in all this hatred do you fill me up with love?"
1) "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap: Looked up the lyrics, and have no idea what this song means. Just find it interesting, different, and beautiful. A trained classical musician who got turned onto synth-pop, Imogen is becoming a personal favorite. Forget the video, shut your eyes, and listen.
Oh, and whatever I'm listening to generally is a fairly good indicator of where my head is at. Confused? Well, don't be. Just enjoy.
10) "Thrill of It" by Robert Randolph and The Family: If you watch college football on ABC you've heard this song. Special thanks to Mike Stinson for cluing me in as to how good this band really is. Dude is playing all those licks on a slide guitar.... amazing!
9) "Landed" by Ben Folds: Can't seem to shake this song. Just seems to soothe the soul.
8) "Save Me" by Aimee Mann: Not really the song I want to put here. Aimee Mann just released a Christmas album, and on it she wrote an interesting song called "Calling on Mary". Any song that includes the line "comfort is not possible when / you look past the joy to the end / calling on Mary is voluntary / unless you're alone like me /if there's a star above, then it can look like love / when they light up the Christmas tree" gets my vote as a pretty good original Christmas song... which isn't easy to pull of in this day and age. But this is a pretty good song too.
7) "Choose Life" by Big Tent Revival: Why do I like this band so much? Why do I wish they'd reunite and go on tour so I could see them again? I can't explain it. I just do. Their song "Psalm 72" might be the closest thing to what it must have been to hear David sing to Saul.
6) "We Three Kings" by Reverend Horton Heat: If the wise men had been from Memphis, this would have been the soundtrack.
5) "Must Have Done Something Right" by Reliant K
4) "Alone" by Kings X: Maybe one of the best bands most people have never heard of. Fans have argued for years as to whether or not the band could be classified as a "Christian Band", and the members of the band have been less than helpful in clearing things up. Seems they can't decide if they are either, which sounds kind of strange... but, there you go. As an example, the video for this song featured a few very scantily clad young women dancing to a song about making people feel welcome and included. How is that conveyed using images of blatant sexual exploitation? I think I'd have fired the director. Anyhow, someone re-cut the video to have Chris Farley as the topless Chippendale dancer wanna-be (from the classic sketch on SNL) in place of the females. Seemed to make more sense than the original, so here you go.
3) "A Living Prayer" by Alison Krauss and Union Station: Lyrics that made of deep stuff.
2) "The Christmas Song" by The Dave Matthews Band: Jesus from a unique perspective. "Father up above, why in all this hatred do you fill me up with love?"
1) "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap: Looked up the lyrics, and have no idea what this song means. Just find it interesting, different, and beautiful. A trained classical musician who got turned onto synth-pop, Imogen is becoming a personal favorite. Forget the video, shut your eyes, and listen.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Top Ten Songs Now Keeping Me Awake (Revised w/videos!)
NOTE: If you checked this post out earlier, go ahead and scroll down. I added a couple of videos (Death Cab... and Brooks and Dunn) for my grandmother (The Great One). I figured she had to be wondering "Death Cab for Cutie? What the heck is that?" Well, here you go grandma. I hope you, or whoever listens, enjoys.
Have you ever read so much of something that you reach a point where you just don't want to read any more of that particular subject?
I have. Methodist Episcopal Church history. Didn't know anything about Francis Asbury two weeks ago... now I do. Am I a richer, more well-rounded man for it?
I don't know, but I'm so tired of the man that the only thing keeping me awake is my latest playlist. Remember, the idea is to rotate in music that can serve as background tunes while I study. They are also, probably on some unconscious level, a good indicator as to where my head is at right now.
Make sense? Probably not. Whaddya want... this blog is free.
Here are the Top Ten songs in heavy rotation right now:
1) Can't Find My Way Home - Blind Faith
Have always loved this song. Just re-discovered it. It is music for my homesick soul.
2) I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab For Cutie
"Catholic School, is vicious as Roman rule. I got my knuckles bruised, by a lady in black. I held my tounge, as she told me son, fear is the heart of love, so I never went back." A love song where a man can't imagine the heaven described to him by the church could be any better than the love he shares with his true love. Beautiful and sad, all at the same time.
3) The Bird - Morris Day and The Time
Have been so into Morris Day and The Time that I emailed the people who organize "Square Fair" at home, and suggested them as an act. Hey, it can't be any worse than Loverboy last year... seeing Mike Reno now makes it hard to believe that at one time "I Heart Mike Reno" used to grace bathroom walls and school notebooks across the country. Now he looks like my long lost brother.
4) Peace of Mind - Boston
Once again, I am betraying my questionable taste in music. Seems like every music critic and darling of the creative music scene hates Boston, but I listen to them and I'm transported back to Jack Reeves' family room, Charleston, West Virginia circa 1975. Besides, critics can't play... that's why they're critics. Thom Schultz and his Rockman, forever!
5) Believe - Brooks and Dunn
There were lots of "Old Man Wrigleys" in my life as a child. The Hartleys (who lost his leg in WWII), The Carneys (he made his own moonshine and like to shoot snakes in the middle of the night when he was liquored up... mom used to use his moonshine to unclog our pipes), Old Man Winter (a sweet man who liked to sit with a three-year old boy on the front porch, watching the world pass by), The Greenlees (great the best strawberries), Joe and Weezie Myers (I don't know how they loved us so much, but they did), and The Kelley's (homemade peach ice cream for all of us kids in the summer). Their faith has become my own.
6) Ramblin Man - The Allman Brothers Band
Beats me. Guess I feel like a Ramblin Man.
7) Rockin' the Paradise - Styx
Yeah.. I can hear my friends in the post-punk band Ho-Ag right now, ridiculing me mercilessly.... Hey, punks! You never even listened to Devo growing up. It was all Mojo Nixon, Faith No More, Frank Black, and before anyone liked them, Nirvana. Now you dress up like Devo on Halloween and everyone says they're a primary influence. I know the truth, you New Wave poseurs. Back in the day, I couldn't pay you enough money to listen to Devo. The Moog synthesizer and theramin is all the weird MST2K and Ed Wood flicks you guys used to watch on TV. I know the truth!!! I need a signed copy of "The Word From Pluto", or I tell your adoring indie punk fans that you grew up playing in a church. Consider yourself warned!
Stop by and say hi if you're home for Christmas!
8) Ghostrider -Rush
There's nothing left if there's nothing left, Ghostrider
9) Do You Feel Like We Do - Peter Frampton
If you were a member at Elkland Pool in Charleston, West Virginia the summer of the year this album came out, you would remember that the lifeguards played it about a million times. Sun, a diving board, and a day playing "shark" with friends... that's when I think of when I hear this song. I can still smell the hot dogs at the concession stand.
10) Kyrie - Mr. Mister
One of the first sermon series I ever did at "The Peak" was "All I Needed To Know I Learned In The 80's". This was one of the songs we did, and as I remember it, it sounded fantastic. May God have mercy on us on all the roads that we must travel.
Have you ever read so much of something that you reach a point where you just don't want to read any more of that particular subject?
I have. Methodist Episcopal Church history. Didn't know anything about Francis Asbury two weeks ago... now I do. Am I a richer, more well-rounded man for it?
I don't know, but I'm so tired of the man that the only thing keeping me awake is my latest playlist. Remember, the idea is to rotate in music that can serve as background tunes while I study. They are also, probably on some unconscious level, a good indicator as to where my head is at right now.
Make sense? Probably not. Whaddya want... this blog is free.
Here are the Top Ten songs in heavy rotation right now:
1) Can't Find My Way Home - Blind Faith
Have always loved this song. Just re-discovered it. It is music for my homesick soul.
2) I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab For Cutie
"Catholic School, is vicious as Roman rule. I got my knuckles bruised, by a lady in black. I held my tounge, as she told me son, fear is the heart of love, so I never went back." A love song where a man can't imagine the heaven described to him by the church could be any better than the love he shares with his true love. Beautiful and sad, all at the same time.
3) The Bird - Morris Day and The Time
Have been so into Morris Day and The Time that I emailed the people who organize "Square Fair" at home, and suggested them as an act. Hey, it can't be any worse than Loverboy last year... seeing Mike Reno now makes it hard to believe that at one time "I Heart Mike Reno" used to grace bathroom walls and school notebooks across the country. Now he looks like my long lost brother.
4) Peace of Mind - Boston
Once again, I am betraying my questionable taste in music. Seems like every music critic and darling of the creative music scene hates Boston, but I listen to them and I'm transported back to Jack Reeves' family room, Charleston, West Virginia circa 1975. Besides, critics can't play... that's why they're critics. Thom Schultz and his Rockman, forever!
5) Believe - Brooks and Dunn
There were lots of "Old Man Wrigleys" in my life as a child. The Hartleys (who lost his leg in WWII), The Carneys (he made his own moonshine and like to shoot snakes in the middle of the night when he was liquored up... mom used to use his moonshine to unclog our pipes), Old Man Winter (a sweet man who liked to sit with a three-year old boy on the front porch, watching the world pass by), The Greenlees (great the best strawberries), Joe and Weezie Myers (I don't know how they loved us so much, but they did), and The Kelley's (homemade peach ice cream for all of us kids in the summer). Their faith has become my own.
6) Ramblin Man - The Allman Brothers Band
Beats me. Guess I feel like a Ramblin Man.
7) Rockin' the Paradise - Styx
Yeah.. I can hear my friends in the post-punk band Ho-Ag right now, ridiculing me mercilessly.... Hey, punks! You never even listened to Devo growing up. It was all Mojo Nixon, Faith No More, Frank Black, and before anyone liked them, Nirvana. Now you dress up like Devo on Halloween and everyone says they're a primary influence. I know the truth, you New Wave poseurs. Back in the day, I couldn't pay you enough money to listen to Devo. The Moog synthesizer and theramin is all the weird MST2K and Ed Wood flicks you guys used to watch on TV. I know the truth!!! I need a signed copy of "The Word From Pluto", or I tell your adoring indie punk fans that you grew up playing in a church. Consider yourself warned!
Stop by and say hi if you're home for Christmas!
8) Ghostrider -Rush
There's nothing left if there's nothing left, Ghostrider
9) Do You Feel Like We Do - Peter Frampton
If you were a member at Elkland Pool in Charleston, West Virginia the summer of the year this album came out, you would remember that the lifeguards played it about a million times. Sun, a diving board, and a day playing "shark" with friends... that's when I think of when I hear this song. I can still smell the hot dogs at the concession stand.
10) Kyrie - Mr. Mister
One of the first sermon series I ever did at "The Peak" was "All I Needed To Know I Learned In The 80's". This was one of the songs we did, and as I remember it, it sounded fantastic. May God have mercy on us on all the roads that we must travel.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
BB Top 10
For those into music and this blog, you'll remember (or not) that a couple of months ago I posted the top ten songs I'm listening to right now as do my studying. To restate, I started listening to music while studying out of necessity my Freshman year of college, where a quiet place to read did not exist. Freshman boys own stereos that are loud, and secretly harbor the desire to be DJ's... the combination is deadly. Since my RA's were actually semi-shacking up with their girlfriends, they weren't around all that much, meaning that I could hear the Rolling Stones, The Smiths, or The Police pretty much anytime, night or day, through the walls of our room.
The key is listening to something so many times that you don't hear it anymore, but changing periodically so that you don't get sub-consciously bored. Here's the list:
(NOTE: I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS TO ANYONE, NOT CONDONING IT'S CONTENT, AND NOT RECOMMENDING THIS TO KIDS. My goal isn't to corrupt or endorse anything.... I just try to listen or watch everything through the eyes of Jesus.)
10) Portland Rain (Everclear): A very vivid account of the day a wife leaves a husband and daughter. Art Alexakis, lead singer and songwriter, grew up in a broken home in a poor neighborhood in Southern California. His memories of his father aren't happy ones, as the man beat his mother before deserting them both (detailed in a great song, "Daddy Gave Me A Name"). Art's mother turned to a kind of fundamentalist, judgemental Christianity that helped sustain her until her death, but the message killed Art's love for the church. A life marked by creativity, drug abuse and recovery, and a series of broken relationships, Art writes best when the songs are about pain. I pray for him every single night.
9) Bold As Love (John Mayer): The whole "Continuum" album is fantastic. Mayer does his best Stevie Ray Vaughan imitation in this tune (and he nails it).
8) Heard 'Em Say (Kanye West): West's view of the world... slanted and interesting.
7) Jesus Walks (Mase): Yeah, am listening to some rap right now. Hey, I went to Lima Senior... what do you expect?
6) Mo Money, Mo Problems (The Notorious B.I.G.): Not really a problem right now, but you ought to listen to this crusing on top of an open air bus in Trafalgar Square. London meets Brooklyn... talk about culture clash.
5) California Love (Zapp and Roger): Was the sample that Tupac's song of the same name was built on. Roger Troutman was a guy who used a vocoder (I think that's what it's called) on every song, so that his voice would sound machine-like. He spent the last years of his life laying musical tracks for Dr. Dre during his "Deathrow Record" days when the "west coast sound" was defined in rap. Roger helped define funk in the 70's, working with funk luminaries as George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and the Ohio Players. I saw him in concert in a little hole-in-the-wall club (don't tell my mom and dad... they didn't know I was there) in Lima, back when Zapp was struggling to survive financially. A truly great show! He died tragically in a murder-suicide at the hands of his brother and business-partner, Larry, in Dayton in 1999
4) Psalm 72 (Big Tent Revival): One of my favorite songs, Christian or otherwise. A unique, powerful musical interpretation of Psalm 72.
3) Defying Gravity/No Good Deed/For Good (from the musical "Wicked"): We saw "Wicked" in London, and I had the music downloaded before I went to bed that night. Go see it.
2) Ocean Floor/Leaving 99 (Audio Adrenaline) - Simply one of the best Christian rock bands. Due to their lead singer's vocal problems, they're calling it quits next April, which is a shame. Two great tracks.
1) Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town (Pearl Jam): I loved this song the first time Noel Tabora played it for me during my first stint at Shawnee UMC. Noel was a great kid, with a soft heart and profound sense that he could make a difference in other people's lives. A great song, that reminds me of a great guy.
The key is listening to something so many times that you don't hear it anymore, but changing periodically so that you don't get sub-consciously bored. Here's the list:
(NOTE: I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS TO ANYONE, NOT CONDONING IT'S CONTENT, AND NOT RECOMMENDING THIS TO KIDS. My goal isn't to corrupt or endorse anything.... I just try to listen or watch everything through the eyes of Jesus.)
10) Portland Rain (Everclear): A very vivid account of the day a wife leaves a husband and daughter. Art Alexakis, lead singer and songwriter, grew up in a broken home in a poor neighborhood in Southern California. His memories of his father aren't happy ones, as the man beat his mother before deserting them both (detailed in a great song, "Daddy Gave Me A Name"). Art's mother turned to a kind of fundamentalist, judgemental Christianity that helped sustain her until her death, but the message killed Art's love for the church. A life marked by creativity, drug abuse and recovery, and a series of broken relationships, Art writes best when the songs are about pain. I pray for him every single night.
9) Bold As Love (John Mayer): The whole "Continuum" album is fantastic. Mayer does his best Stevie Ray Vaughan imitation in this tune (and he nails it).
8) Heard 'Em Say (Kanye West): West's view of the world... slanted and interesting.
7) Jesus Walks (Mase): Yeah, am listening to some rap right now. Hey, I went to Lima Senior... what do you expect?
6) Mo Money, Mo Problems (The Notorious B.I.G.): Not really a problem right now, but you ought to listen to this crusing on top of an open air bus in Trafalgar Square. London meets Brooklyn... talk about culture clash.
5) California Love (Zapp and Roger): Was the sample that Tupac's song of the same name was built on. Roger Troutman was a guy who used a vocoder (I think that's what it's called) on every song, so that his voice would sound machine-like. He spent the last years of his life laying musical tracks for Dr. Dre during his "Deathrow Record" days when the "west coast sound" was defined in rap. Roger helped define funk in the 70's, working with funk luminaries as George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and the Ohio Players. I saw him in concert in a little hole-in-the-wall club (don't tell my mom and dad... they didn't know I was there) in Lima, back when Zapp was struggling to survive financially. A truly great show! He died tragically in a murder-suicide at the hands of his brother and business-partner, Larry, in Dayton in 1999
4) Psalm 72 (Big Tent Revival): One of my favorite songs, Christian or otherwise. A unique, powerful musical interpretation of Psalm 72.
3) Defying Gravity/No Good Deed/For Good (from the musical "Wicked"): We saw "Wicked" in London, and I had the music downloaded before I went to bed that night. Go see it.
2) Ocean Floor/Leaving 99 (Audio Adrenaline) - Simply one of the best Christian rock bands. Due to their lead singer's vocal problems, they're calling it quits next April, which is a shame. Two great tracks.
1) Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town (Pearl Jam): I loved this song the first time Noel Tabora played it for me during my first stint at Shawnee UMC. Noel was a great kid, with a soft heart and profound sense that he could make a difference in other people's lives. A great song, that reminds me of a great guy.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Gentle Revolution
A quick post before I head home. Am listening to Scott Krippayne's new album, Gentle Revolution, and enjoy it immensely. On behalf of my last church, I booked Scott to do a concert, and I must say it was one of the best I have ever witnessed. The guy had actually just spent the previous night flying back from a mini-tour in Europe, and pretty much just rolled up to the door of our venue to close out that journey. Yet, despite the lack of sleep, and the fact that the only musicians on-stage that evening were Scott and buddy of his that played a variety of percussion instruments, the show was phenomenal! Great vocal performance, a great stage presence, very intelligent... I can't tell you how many of the 500 people there that paid $5 to see the guy thanked us by saying that we had charged too little for the experience. Just a super evening.
His new album is a good one. More experimental and edgy than his past work, Gentle Revolution is packed with thoughtful lyrics, rock music with more than three chords, and some good theology. Scott doesn't write music that's just about "me and Jesus". He takes seriously the nature of the relationship between Christ's followers and the world they live in. The nice balance between the music inspired by Scott's own journey of getting to know Jesus, and this sense of where Christians ought to be in a world that needs to be redeemed, makes for an interesting record (am showing my age... only DJ's and collectors still buy records). Would recommend it to anyone who's spiritual journey has ups, downs, and is often not as simple as some preachers and teachers would lead us to believe it should be.
Just a note, about 12 or 13 years ago, I once took an executive with a Christian record label to task for the quality of the Jesus music being produced out of Nashville. I was, at the time, attending a conference for youth pastors, where we were constantly being browbeaten by artists and industry reps to push Christian artists on our kids and churches. My feeling was, and is, that the job of promotion and distribution of Christian music is the business of the Christian music industry, and that if the stuff they produced was any good, it would be sellable on its own. I find it interesting that a decade later, Christian artists are crossing over into pop, metal, and dance worlds with little, if any, help from local churches. Further, if you look in the CD case (so nineties now) or the IPod (there we go... into the 21st Century) of a typical teenager, you'll be more likely to find Christian music represented there (Switchfoot, Reliant K, etc...), than that kid in any church on a given Sunday morning. Just an indication of how far this segment of the music industry has come, and of the depth of talent it posesess.
As a part of this "gentle revolution", give Scott a listen.... I think you'll enjoy him.
God Bless,
Bryan
A quick post before I head home. Am listening to Scott Krippayne's new album, Gentle Revolution, and enjoy it immensely. On behalf of my last church, I booked Scott to do a concert, and I must say it was one of the best I have ever witnessed. The guy had actually just spent the previous night flying back from a mini-tour in Europe, and pretty much just rolled up to the door of our venue to close out that journey. Yet, despite the lack of sleep, and the fact that the only musicians on-stage that evening were Scott and buddy of his that played a variety of percussion instruments, the show was phenomenal! Great vocal performance, a great stage presence, very intelligent... I can't tell you how many of the 500 people there that paid $5 to see the guy thanked us by saying that we had charged too little for the experience. Just a super evening.
His new album is a good one. More experimental and edgy than his past work, Gentle Revolution is packed with thoughtful lyrics, rock music with more than three chords, and some good theology. Scott doesn't write music that's just about "me and Jesus". He takes seriously the nature of the relationship between Christ's followers and the world they live in. The nice balance between the music inspired by Scott's own journey of getting to know Jesus, and this sense of where Christians ought to be in a world that needs to be redeemed, makes for an interesting record (am showing my age... only DJ's and collectors still buy records). Would recommend it to anyone who's spiritual journey has ups, downs, and is often not as simple as some preachers and teachers would lead us to believe it should be.
Just a note, about 12 or 13 years ago, I once took an executive with a Christian record label to task for the quality of the Jesus music being produced out of Nashville. I was, at the time, attending a conference for youth pastors, where we were constantly being browbeaten by artists and industry reps to push Christian artists on our kids and churches. My feeling was, and is, that the job of promotion and distribution of Christian music is the business of the Christian music industry, and that if the stuff they produced was any good, it would be sellable on its own. I find it interesting that a decade later, Christian artists are crossing over into pop, metal, and dance worlds with little, if any, help from local churches. Further, if you look in the CD case (so nineties now) or the IPod (there we go... into the 21st Century) of a typical teenager, you'll be more likely to find Christian music represented there (Switchfoot, Reliant K, etc...), than that kid in any church on a given Sunday morning. Just an indication of how far this segment of the music industry has come, and of the depth of talent it posesess.
As a part of this "gentle revolution", give Scott a listen.... I think you'll enjoy him.
God Bless,
Bryan
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